In a world where multi-billionaires delight in tossing around cash like confetti at a political rally, it seems Elon Musk has found his own version of fiscal fun: imposing a $1 spending limit on federal agency credit cards. Brought to you by the Trump administration’s latest brainwave, this move is less about saving and more akin to setting fire to the agency’s ability to function effectively.

You might think limiting federal credit cards is as effective as teaching a cat to swim, but apparently, it’s the new hot trend in the Department of Government Efficiency (yes, really, that’s a thing). With agencies like NOAA and the FDA scrambling to complete basic tasks, equipment orders and essential supplies have become victims of this bizarre spending freeze.

Scientists at NOAA can’t even get their hands on crucial radar repair kits. Laboratory researchers at the FDA are stuck in a cycle of asking their colleagues for spare pipette tips like they’re pooling together change for an overpriced oat milk latte. Meanwhile, at the National Institutes of Health, researchers are hitting pause on life-saving experiments because the necessary antibodies have been put on indefinite hold. The irony of having critters that could literally age out of critical tests is a cosmic kick to the gut.

And let’s not even get started on the National Park Service. Employees scheduled to oversee maintenance work are scratching their heads, wondering who goes to these places to support the country’s natural treasures. There’s now a memo stating that any trip not linked to national security or immigration enforcement is out; sorry, folks, it’s all about prioritizing the totally-not-urgent stuff first.

As the credit card freeze tightens, essential items like laboratory supplies and even the shipping of critical forensic evidence are being stalled. And if you thought public safety would take precedence, think again, federal workers are left piecing together solutions like they’re prepping for a dystopian apocalypse.

Musk’s zero-based budgeting escapade, which worked out so well for Twitter (cue the eye roll), effectively turns the government into a retrograde model of operational efficiency. The belief seems to be that if it ain’t broke, let’s break it together.

If anything, we now have a front-row seat to the chaos that ensues when one man’s whim becomes federal policy, an experiment that leaves scientists and public servants alike wondering if efficiency at the cost of function was really worth the plunge.

In conclusion, thanks to Elon Musk, it turns out the rich really can change everything, right before your eyes, and not in a good way.